Southern Nevada projects low on water priority list

A state board that helps finance local drinking water projects has adopted its priority list for next year, but the requests from Southern Nevada are far down in the rankings.

The Board for Financing Water Projects listed 50 projects that are requesting a total of $110 million to improve drinking water quality. But it's estimated that just $8 million will be available in loans and grants.

The Las Vegas Valley Water District is ranked 30th of the 50 systems. It wants $4.1 million to drill wells and replace the distribution system at Blue Diamond.

Henderson has requests in for nine projects that are ranked between 34th and 49th on the list.

Most of higher ranked requests come from small government seeking funding to remove the arsenic from their water systems.

The board today authorized a grant of $1 million to Tonopah for new wells supplying water that meets the standards for arsenic removal.

The board questioned whether it would be cheaper to hook into the system in Goldfield, which is about 20 miles away. Local officials said it would be more costly. The total cost for new wells and distribution system is estimated at $7.6 million, with local and federal governments supplying the rest.